WE TEND not to talk about national divergence in design any more, but in Scandinavia there is still a visible difference between neighbouring countries, not least when it comes to where we produce our furniture, and how we reach out internationally. “Denmark may have capitalised on the concept of Scandinavian design, but it is the work of Swedish designers that has led the evolution of Scandinavian design for the past 20 years,” says Anders Färdig, CEO at Design House Stockholm. The company, founded almost 25 years ago, has been crucial, along with Danish companies such as Muuto and Hay, in spreading the concept of Scandinavian design internationally over the past decade. “Sweden still has production in the country, as opposed to Denmark, where the majority of new design companies outsource,” he adds. “But in Sweden the focus has been on producing office furniture, which rarely reaches out in a broad sense internationally. It’s too hard to compete with prices.”
Design House Stockholm wants to change this. When the company looked for a place to produce the Wick chair, which is designed for both home environments and more demanding public spaces, it chose Sweden because no other country could compete on quality. “People are more willing to pay for quality today, and Swedish quality of production can hardly be found anywhere else in the world,” says Färdig. “Producing in Sweden has never been a goal in itself for us, we adjust according to the furniture, but if the chair is well received on the market, then that will affect production in the country.”
Swedish production is shrinking, and as a consequence so is the number of skilled furniture makers – yet we are seeing a renewed interest in preserving it in Sweden. This is the case with both consumers and businesses – traditional companies who want to safeguard Swe
